The present variety of peach tree resulted from an on-going program of fruit and nut tree breeding. The purpose of this program is to improve the commercial quality of deciduous fruit and nut varieties, and rootstocks, by creating and releasing promising selections of Prunus, Malus, Punica, and Juglans species. To this end we make both controlled and hybrid cross pollinations each year in order to produce seedling populations from which improved progenies are evaluated and selected.
The seedling, ‘Burpeachfortytwo’ was originated by us, and selected from a population of seedlings growing in our experimental orchards which are located near Fowler, Calif. The seedlings, grown on their own roots, were derived from planting seed of an open pollinated seedling which was identified as, ‘A40.005’, (unpatented), and which further produces a yellow-fleshed, acidic fleshed peach. The pollen parent of this open pollinated seedling is known and unnamed, (unpatented), and produces a white-fleshed, clingstone, low acid nectarine. The resulting fruit was collected from the female parent (‘A40.005’) at a mature stage, and then seeds were extracted in September of 1998. After a period of stratification, the seed was placed in the greenhouse, by population, and then field planted for tree establishment, and ultimately to exhibit fruit for evaluation. One peach seedling which produced white-fleshed fruit, and which further is the present variety, exhibited especially desirable characteristics, and was then designated as ‘E63.008’. This seedling was marked for subsequent observation. After the 2001 fruiting season, the new variety of peach tree was selected for advanced evaluation, and repropagation.